Matti Klein Soul Trio Announces 2024 UK Tour

The German soulful jazz outfit Matti Klein Soul Trio have announced their very first UK tour for 2024. 

31.01.24  LONDON Bulls Head, Barnes https://tickets.thebullsheadbarnes.com/events/2024-01-31-matti-klein-soul-trio-from-berlin-bulls-head-barnes 

01.02.24  EDINBURGH Voodoo Rooms https://www.thevoodoorooms.com/events/matti-klein-soul-trio-the-voodoo-rooms-the-speakeasy-01-02-2024 

02.02.24  NOTTINGHAM Peggy’s Skylight https://peggysskylight.co.uk/events/matti-klein-soul-trio/ 

03.02.24  NORTHAMPTON The Garibaldi https://www.thegaribaldihotel.pub/ 

04.02.24  BATH Komedia https://www.komedia.co.uk/bath/community-events/matti-klein-soul-trio/ 

Berlin-born pianist and composer Matti Klein is a wizard behind his Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric piano. After completing music studies in his home city, he led the successful funky jazz quartet Mo’ Blow for a decade, issuing three albums on the renowned ACT label, while also acting as musical director and/or arranger for domestic superstars such as Herbert Grönemeyer and Sarah Connor, international pop artists like Jimmy Somerville, plus latter-day jazz greats Ed Motta, Torsten Goods and Nils Landgren.

Klein has to date performed over 1000 international concerts in legendary venues such as Ronnie Scott’s (London), Blue Note (Tokyo), Highline Ballroom (New York) and New Morning (Paris), as well as at numerous major festivals.

Klein can now be heard alongside the bass clarinet, tenor saxophone plus effects of Lars Zander and the tight grooves of ex-Mo‘ Blow drummer André Seidel in the Matti Klein Soul Trio, which was formed after the dissolution of Mo’ Blow in 2017 and who have released two well received soul/jazz albums to date in ‘Soul Trio’ (2020) and ’Soul Trio Live On Tape’ (2021). Both have often been compared to classic gems released on the Impulse label in the ‘60s.

“I live out my love of instrumental groove jazz in this trio, which is an exciting format for my compositions with the Wurlitzer as the main instrument,” states Klein. “Instead of a traditional line-up with bass, the three of us can play pretty fat grooves. The soul in the band name is also very important to me, as it emphasises that this is an absolute affair of the heart.”

‘Soul Trio’ was recorded, mixed and co-produced by Axel Reinemer of Jazzanova and spanned a wide stylistic arc that encapsulated everything from ‘African Taxitrip’ – which paid tribute to Dollar Brand, Klein’s own history with the Afrobeat band Kabu Kabu, and was also a big favourite of DJ Robert Elms at BBC London – to the dreamy downtempo hip-hop flow of ‘Windy Move’ and the ambitious 8+ minute suite ‘River Journey’.

‘Soul Trio Live On Tape’ was actually recorded before the debut, when the trio laid down a set of live sessions with producer/engineer Jochen Ströh (Tony Allen, Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas, Jimi Tenor) comprised of ‘deep-fried contemporary soul jazz’ arrangements of songs primarily written for Mo’ Blow. Alongside their new leader, Zander proved his reputation as the most soulful tenor saxophonist in town and just why he had earned kudos for a bass clarinet sound enhanced with FX, while Seidel also displayed his chops, incorporating elements of rock, hip-hop, odd meter fusion and the sound of New Orleans into a unique style.

As for its contents, ‘Rocket Swing’ had a hip-hop vibe with a jazzy fifth fall, ‘Ray’ was a Meters-inspired shuffle, while ‘Sunsqueezed’ had a wider compositional arc, evoking sunshine peeking through the clouds during a long, grey ten month Berlin winter to offer hope for the other two months.

Matti Klein – Wurlitzer piano, Fender Bass Rhodes
Lars Zander – bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, FX
André Seidel – drums

Feature Image Photo Credit:  Rob Stirner

‘Soul Trio’ is out now on Shuffle Shack Records/Membran: https://orcd.co/soultrio 

‘Soul Trio Live On Tape’ out now on Shuffle Shack Records/Membran: https://orcd.co/soultrioliveontape 

For tickets and more information on The Matti Klein Soul Trio visit their official website here: https://matti-klein.de/ 

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